Last month, Jaguars GM Trent Baalke expressed interest in the team re-signing Evan Engram. The former first-round pick confirmed he is also onboard with staying in Jacksonville, offering a firmer stance compared to his December 2022 view.
The former five-year Giants starter put himself in better position to cash in this year, setting a Jaguars single-season tight end record with 766 receiving yards. While Engram is going into his age-29 season, he could be the market’s top tight end. Although he will be in a good spot if he hits free agency, the Ole Miss product wants to stay where he is.
“Hopefully something gets done; it’s mutual,” Engram said of the interest in him returning to the Jaguars during a Sirius XM Radio interview. “We haven’t had too many conversations yet, but the interest is there on both sides for me to come back, and obviously I would love to come back as well.”
After toiling on flawed Giants teams during his first half-decade in the NFL, Engram became a key component in the Jags’ late-season surge to the divisional round. The franchise had not seen ideal returns on recent investments at the position, from Julius Thomas to Josh Oliver to Tyler Eifert. Engram provided a different impact, topping Kyle Brady‘s 22-year-old Jags tight end single-season standard. Engram also surpassed his own career-best yardage — set during his 2017 rookie year — and added a seven-catch, 93-yard outing in the Jags’ 27-point wild-card comeback.
The Jags gave Engram a one-year, $9M deal in March 2022, and while that is decent “prove-it” money, Engram will be targeting more on his second Jacksonville accord. The Jags’ interest and the tight end franchise tag checking in as the third-cheapest this year could also point to Engram not reaching free agency.
It does not sound like he would begrudge the Jaguars for proceeding down that path. Three teams — the Browns, Cowboys and Dolphins — tagged tight ends last year; David Njoku was the only one to sign an extension before the July deadline.
“I felt like I put a lot of great things on film; I had a lot of great results this year. I was a big part of helping my team win,” Engram said. “When you do that at the pass-catching position, those guys get taken care of financially. That’s something that’s been a big goal of mine my entire career.
“If [the tag] happens, I think that’ll be a placeholder to get something done. If that does happen, I’ll be blessed either way. We’ll figure something out long-term that both sides will be happy with.”
The tight end tag will cost teams $11.36M this year. The Jags may well have Engram positioned as their top free agent. While four-year right tackle starter Jawaan Taylor wants to stay as well, the team already has left tackle Cam Robinson signed to a top-10 deal at his position and Brandon Scherff attached to a top-level guard pact.
The team also, however, already has three wide receivers signed to notable contracts. Christian Kirk is set to count $23M toward Jacksonville’s 2023 cap; Zay Jones is at $10.6M. Calvin Ridley‘s potential reinstatement will lead to him counting $10.9M against the cap, via his fifth-year option. But Engram’s deal could be back-loaded to complement the receivers’ numbers. Should Engram be retained, he would round out a promising pass-catching corps for Trevor Lawrence‘s third season.
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